Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has admitted that the National Security Agency should have disclosed more about the bulk data collection that it has engaged in for more than a decade. He made the surprising statements in an interview with The Daily Beast.

The bulk data program is designed to collect certain information on all US phone calls, although there have been recent disagreements about how much cell phone data is swept up. In the interview, Clapper said the controversy could have been avoided if more information about the program was disclosed at its outset, back in 2001. He suggests the public, still shaken from the 9/11 attacks, would have been on board with such a program. Clapper said:

I probably shouldn’t say this, but I will. Had we been transparent about this from the outset right after 9/11—which is the genesis of the 215 program—and said both to the American people and to their elected representatives, we need to cover this gap, we need to make sure this never happens to us again, so here is what we are going to set up, here is how it’s going to work, and why we have to do it, and here are the safeguards… We wouldn’t have had the problem we had.

What did us in here, what worked against us was this shocking revelation. I don’t think it would be of any greater concern to most Americans than fingerprints. Well people kind of accept that because they know about it. But had we been transparent about it and say here’s one more thing we have to do as citizens for the common good, just like we have to go to airports two hours early and take our shoes off, all the other things we do for the common good, this is one more thing.

Since the NSA leaks began, Clapper has become one of the most controversial figures in US intelligence. Last month, several members of Congress said that President Obama should fire Clapper. It was Clapper who was asked by Senator Ron Wyden last year, before the Snowden leaks, whether the NSA gathered "any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?" Clapper responded: "Not wittingly."

Clapper addressed that statement in the interview, saying he misunderstood Wyden's question. He believed Wyden was referring to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which the NSA treats as the basis for PRISM and other data-collection programs.

"I was not even thinking of what he was asking about, which is, of course, we now all know as section 215 of the Patriot Act governing the acquisition and storage of telephony business records metadata," Clapper told The Daily Beast. "Wasn’t even thinking of that."

He also reiterated his position that the bulk data collection should continue, comparing it to a kind of "fire insurance."

"For me it was not some massive assault on civil liberties and privacy because of what we actually do and the safeguards that are put on this," said Clapper. "To guard against perhaps, these days, low probability but a very (high) impact thing if it happens. I buy fire insurance ever since I retired, the wife and I bought a house out here and we buy fire insurance every year. Never had a fire. But I am not gonna quit buying my fire insurance; same kind of thing."

Considering the political environment back then, I think he's probably correct. Not sure that there wouldn't have been backlash later, but probably less likely. People are more likely to accept things if they are eased into them.

How insulting. He thinks this program would have went over with the public better by playing on their emotions and fear from 9/11? That's pretty disgusting. And he obviously thinks we all support the TSA and other such ineffective (at catching terrorists, at least) security theater and overreaching government programs implemented since 9/11. Why hasn't he been fired yet?

If we'd known about the project from the beginning, then the rejection and subsequent dismantling of the project would have been less destructive. This isn't exactly the first time the intelligence industry has let it's addiction to secrecy damage it's ability to operate.

"I regret not exploiting the tragic deaths of thousands of innocents to further an atmosphere of fear and paranoia in which I could push forward my ambitions for being able to monitor the lives of every US citizen."

What is the point of destroying our civil rights and trashing the Constitution if the people know that you have destroyed their civil rights and shredded the Constitution. The best way to keep a slave a slave is to make them think they are free.

I buy fire insurance ever since I retired, the wife and I bought a house out here and we buy fire insurance every year. Never had a fire. But I am not gonna quit buying my fire insurance; same kind of thing.

I buy fire insurance ever since I retired, the wife and I bought a house out here and we buy fire insurance every year. Never had a fire. But I am not gonna quit buying my fire insurance; same kind of thing.

Well he's kind of right, Americans are generally more willing to bend over and take it up the butthole if you lube them up immediately after a scary terrorist attack.

Yes, that's exactly it. It amounts to "we should have sold this when the irrational fear was highest".

And it is NOTHING like fire insurance. fire insurance enables you to buy/build a new house if it burns down.

This mass-data-gathering is being sold as the only way to link terrorists with each other, except it isn't actually doing that [because he has said it hasn't been able to do that in a useful way], and it IS being used for other things, like checking up on girlfriends and starting illegal investigations into American's.

"...we need to cover this gap, we need to make sure this never happens to us again, so here is what we are going to set up, here is how it’s going to work, and why we have to do it, and here are the safeguards… "

Safeguards that obviously don't address personal abuse of the system (LOVEINT) and allow gathering intel on topics completely unrelated to threats to homeland security (spying on US law firms representing foreign governments).

As a group, American media consumers have very, very short memories and our politicians know it.

And Clapper should be forced to resign and be charged with Contempt of Congress and sentenced to some prison time.

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Don't forget the indictments for Cheney and Rumsfeld for approving torture. And when are they going to close down Guantanamo? It is a blight on the reputation of the US. Slightly off-topic for this article, but sadly still on-topic generally.

I buy fire insurance ever since I retired, the wife and I bought a house out here and we buy fire insurance every year. Never had a fire. But I am not gonna quit buying my fire insurance; same kind of thing.

Well, his house will certainly never burn down then.

I'm not even sure what he is trying to tell me.

He is saying he would rather have something and not need it than need something and not have it. It is the reason most people get insurance (other than mandatory).

If people would rather have these types of data collections is a different story, but that is his point.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has admitted that the National Security Agency should have disclosed more about the bulk data collection that it has engaged in for more than a decade. He made the surprising statements in an interview with The Daily Beast.

An obvious attempt at damage control. Oddly, we see some of this in the forums for nearly every NSA related article.

Quote:

He also reiterated his position that the bulk data collection should continue, comparing it to a kind of "fire insurance."

What a shock.

The difference here is if a fire happens, the insurance will pay off. There is no payoff with the NSA, no preformance metric, no cost for failure, no feedback for failure, every time they fail they just want to raise the 'insurance rates'. If my insurance company was as bad as the NSA, I'd have grounds to sue for damages.

Also there is the disturbing message that an act of congress can contravene the Constitution. Clearly the NSA thinks that the BOR does not apply to them. One only wonders how many other laws and regulations they break or ignore in day to day business. The flow of Snowden docs seems to have dried up, so we may never know.

Clapper might be one of the biggest scumbags I have ever come across in government. His only realization here is that he didn't capitalize on the deaths of thousands of Americans to push through anti-American programs when they'd be more easily overlooked. That's f'ed up.

His vague references to "safeguards" would hold more weight if we hadn't seen the internal report on the number of policy violations, or seen how they spied on various trade talks... And if a civilian contractor hadn't been able to essentially walk away with everything they were trying to keep secure.

They not only cannot be trusted to not abuse this power, they are not competent enough to prevent others abusing it either.